Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
County Adds 'Medical Investigators' to Hunt Down COVID Cases
TLBBHMAP3-U010ALB5ANM-348f959abae2-512-300x300-1
By Jim Jakobs, Digital Producer
Published 5 years ago on
May 19, 2020

Share

The Fresno County Health Department knew who to call for help tracking down COVID-19 cases — EMTs laid off because of a dip in service calls during the pandemic.

“American Ambulance and the county agreed we would start out with a team of 15 to do medical investigation. This allowed us to bring back 13 of the 15 EMTs we laid off in March.” — Bob Adams, human resources director, American Ambulance

Now, many of these EMTs are joining the county’s 15-person MIT — Medical Investigation Team.

The MITs are trained specifically to talk to, assess, and document information from patients.

“We just did a bridge to bring some of those (EMTs) on to be trained and do this work at our direction,” said David Pomaville, director of the Fresno County Department of Public Health. “They will have phenomenal insight into how the public is addressing this concern.”

EMTs Bring a Needed Skillset to the Job

American Ambulance hired 15 new EMTs in early March. But, after their classroom training, the call volume fell 25% due to COVID-19.

“I had to deliver the news that we were laying them all off,” American Ambulance Director of Human Resources Bob Adams tells GV Wire by email. “Since then, we have had several conversations with various people at the Health Department and it was identified that our EMTs and Paramedics all have … the skill set needed for Medical Investigation.”

Medical investigation is a little different than contact tracing. Contact tracing is the process of finding and reaching out to the contacts of someone who tests positive for an infectious pathogen.

Adams says medical investigators interview people who have tested positive for COVID-19. From there, they work to identify the person’s contacts and provide them with information on how to care for themselves.

Those identified as having contact with a positive COVID-19 case are put in touch with a contact tracer. The contact tracer then provides information on what to watch out for, when to seek additional evaluation or medical treatment, and how to keep safe.

“American Ambulance and the county agreed we would start out with a team of 15 to do medical investigation,” says Adams.  “This allowed us to bring back 13 of the 15 EMTs we laid off in March.”

The medical investigators are training this week at American Ambulance’s training center in Clovis.

Schools Expected to Help With Contact Tracing

Schools will play a significant role in helping with contact tracing.

“It became very evident to us as we go forward and as we start to bring school systems back in place, that they’re going to become the first point of contact for people to report that they’ve had a positive COVID,” said Pomaville.

Pomaville said this group will include school nurses. The county health department is working with schools on a training program.

“We’re putting together a memorandum of understanding so both parties know the rules of who does what,” said Pomaville. “We’ve been talking with the Fresno County Superintendent of Schools conceptually with this. We have been in touch with Fresno Unified, Clovis Unified, and Sanger Unified on a daily basis.”

Pomaville also says the county is training on a state database that will be deployed across a variety of digital platforms to allow everyone to work collectively on contact tracing.

The Medical Investigation Questionaire


DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Vacant Fresno Restaurant Heavily Damaged in Early Morning Fire

DON'T MISS

Visalia Police Make Arrest in Deadly Hit-and-Run

DON'T MISS

Madera County Inmate Arrested After Chase and Crash With Kids in Car

DON'T MISS

Fresno Shooting Leaves Man Dead Near Griffith and Hughes

DON'T MISS

Iran and Israel Say a New Wave of Iranian Missile Attacks Has Begun. Explosions Heard Over Jerusalem

DON'T MISS

Man Found Dead in Bass Lake, Cause Under Investigation

DON'T MISS

US Marines Carry out First Known Detention of Civilian in Los Angeles, Video Shows

DON'T MISS

Tensions Boil Between Arias and Dem Congressmembers

DON'T MISS

ICE Arrests of Non-Criminal Migrants Surge 800% Under Trump

DON'T MISS

Youth Invited to Unplug, Connect With Nature at Day Camp in Auberry

UP NEXT

Fresno Shooting Leaves Man Dead Near Griffith and Hughes

UP NEXT

Man Found Dead in Bass Lake, Cause Under Investigation

UP NEXT

US Marines Carry out First Known Detention of Civilian in Los Angeles, Video Shows

UP NEXT

Tensions Boil Between Arias and Dem Congressmembers

UP NEXT

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Allan Saly

UP NEXT

Fresno County Deputies Seek Information in 2020 San Joaquin Homicide

UP NEXT

Teen Dating Violence on the Rise in Fresno. What Are the Warning Signs?

UP NEXT

Fresno to Join International Protests for ‘No Kings Day’ Saturday. Here Is What to Know

UP NEXT

Here’s What to Expect at the Army’s 250th Anniversary Parade on Trump’s Birthday

UP NEXT

Clovis Man Sentenced to Probation, Ordered to Pay $656K in Crop Insurance Fraud Case

Fresno Shooting Leaves Man Dead Near Griffith and Hughes

13 hours ago

Iran and Israel Say a New Wave of Iranian Missile Attacks Has Begun. Explosions Heard Over Jerusalem

14 hours ago

Man Found Dead in Bass Lake, Cause Under Investigation

14 hours ago

US Marines Carry out First Known Detention of Civilian in Los Angeles, Video Shows

14 hours ago

Tensions Boil Between Arias and Dem Congressmembers

14 hours ago

ICE Arrests of Non-Criminal Migrants Surge 800% Under Trump

14 hours ago

Youth Invited to Unplug, Connect With Nature at Day Camp in Auberry

14 hours ago

Mexico’s Sheinbaum Urges US to Avoid Immigration Action at LA Soccer Game

15 hours ago

Fresno County’s Firestone Fire Grows, Personnel Added to Contain the Blaze

16 hours ago

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Allan Saly

16 hours ago

Vacant Fresno Restaurant Heavily Damaged in Early Morning Fire

An early morning fire caused significant damage to a vacant restaurant building in Fresno, the Fresno Fire Department reported.   ...

12 hours ago

A vacant Fresno restaurant was heavily damaged in a fire early Friday, June 13, 2025, morning, with no injuries reported and the cause under investigation. (Fresno FD)
12 hours ago

Vacant Fresno Restaurant Heavily Damaged in Early Morning Fire

13 hours ago

Visalia Police Make Arrest in Deadly Hit-and-Run

Michael Sanchez, 30, a Madera County inmate, who failed to return from a funeral day-pass was arrested Friday after a police chase and crash involving children. (Madera County SO)
13 hours ago

Madera County Inmate Arrested After Chase and Crash With Kids in Car

13 hours ago

Fresno Shooting Leaves Man Dead Near Griffith and Hughes

Israeli Iron Dome air defense system fires to intercept missiles over Tel Aviv, Israel, Friday, June 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Tomer Neuberg)
14 hours ago

Iran and Israel Say a New Wave of Iranian Missile Attacks Has Begun. Explosions Heard Over Jerusalem

A man in his 80s was found dead in Bass Lake on Friday, June 13, 2025, morning while attempting to launch a boat, authorities said. (Madera County SO)
14 hours ago

Man Found Dead in Bass Lake, Cause Under Investigation

U.S. Marines detain a person outside the Wilshire Federal Building after Marines were deployed to Los Angeles, as protests against federal immigration sweeps continue, in Los Angeles, California, U.S. June 13, 2025. (Reuters/Aude Guerrucci)
14 hours ago

US Marines Carry out First Known Detention of Civilian in Los Angeles, Video Shows

14 hours ago

Tensions Boil Between Arias and Dem Congressmembers

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend